Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Chris Wray stand for the National Anthem during an installation ceremony for Wray at the FBI Building, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Washington.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Chris Wray stand for the National Anthem during an installation ceremony for Wray at the FBI Building, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Washington.

(Andrew Harnik / AP)

Eric TuckerAssociated Press

Chris Wray was formally installed as the new FBI director on Thursday in a ceremony notable for the absence of the man who appointed him: President Donald Trump.

The ceremony in a courtyard at FBI headquarters was largely a formality since Wray has been on the job for nearly two months. But in a reflection of the unusual circumstances of the event, it took place without Trump. And Wray's two direct predecessors as FBI director, James Comey and Robert Mueller, were also absent, avoiding potentially uncomfortable encounters amid an investigation that touches the White House.

Trump fired Comey in May, and Mueller was appointed as special counsel the following week to oversee an FBI investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Part of that probe includes an investigation into Comey's firing.

Trump's absence was striking given that President Barack Obama attended the most recent FBI director installation ceremony, for Comey in 2013.

Neither the Russia investigation nor a separate FBI probe of Hillary Clinton's email use was directly referenced during the 45-minute ceremony. Yet the politics of the event were unmistakable, at both the podium and in the audience, which included Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who wrote the memo that the White House initially held up as justification for Comey's firing.

"Our mission is simple but profound — to protect the American people and to uphold the Constitution," Wray said. Speaking in general terms about the FBI's mission, he later added, "We're going to follow the facts independently, no matter where they lead and no matter who likes it."

FBI Director Christopher Wray, in his first public remarks as the bureau's new head, said he has seen no interference from the White House in the ongoing investigation into potential collusion between Moscow and Trump associates in last year's election.

"I can say very confidently that I have not...

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation in March and was later involved in Trump's decision to fire Comey, praised Wray as an "American patriot." His prepared remarks, though not mentioning Comey by name, included comments that could be seen as indirect jibes at him and his handling of the Clinton email case.

"A director must know it is not about him, but about security, justice and law," Sessions said.

Wray was a former high-ranking Justice Department official during the George W. Bush administration, serving as head of its criminal division. He most recently worked in private law practice in Atlanta.